TV3 Suspends Nana Aba

TV3 news anchor and presenter Nana Aba has been asked to stop appearing on all on-air programmes at the station until further notice.

The suspension was officially announced in a press statement on Saturday. The station said the decision was necessitated by the recent allegation of “online information theft” levelled against Nana Aba.

Signed by Chief Executive Officer of TV3, Mr Augustus Dickson, the statement said “after preliminary investigations internally, and in accordance with TV3’s own commitment to the highest level of professionalism, Management has decided to take Nana Aba Anamoah off air until further notice.

“As a broadcast network that prides itself in upholding high ethical standards and delivering credible and trustworthy content to its viewers, TV3 would like to assure viewers and other key stakeholders that it shall continue to take all necessary steps to maintain such standards.”

“We expect guardians of our brand, particularly employees who we entrust to deliver content on air to our viewers, to ascribe to the company’s values wherever they are,” it added.

This comes at a time Ms Anamoah has lost a dad and is still in a period of mourning.

She has since not made any official comment on the development and her phones were either switched off or out of coverage area when NEWS-ONE attempted to reach her at press time Sunday.

Persons close to her claimed she was traumatised by the development and that she did not expect the issue to have dragged this far.

Nana Aba has been trending heavily on the various social media platforms and even in main stream media after she put a photo on her Twitter wall depicting herself at the Old Trafford stadium where Manchester United recently played Sunderland in a Premier League game.

Not long after Nana Aba’s photo started generating comments, someone claimed ownership of the photo and even provided the original shot to prove that what the journalist had published onTwitter was a piece of  forged work in which she had super-imposed her photo on someone’s image.

In what appears to be a response and a defence of the photo she published, Nana Aba made public her ticket to the match to prove that indeed she was at Old Trafford.

However, social media comments and discussions on the development compelled Nana Aba to render an apology for publishing the photo, describing her action as a joke gone bad.

Public opinion is split on the announcement of her suspension on Saturday: while one group has accused Management of TV3 of killing an ant with a sledge hammer, another has opined that Nana Aba’s claim that the incident was a joke is an afterthought.

Source:ghanaweb

Pressure mounts on Mahama to declare assets

Intense pressure is being brought to bear on President Mahama to declare his assets, almost four years after taking the oath of office.

Leading the charge is civil society organization, the Progressive Nationalist Forum (PNF) and being given a lot of impetus by the Progressive People’s Party (PPP).

It comes in the wake of a declaration of assets by Nigeria’s current President, Muhammadu Buhari.

During a visit of President Buhari to Ghana early this week, President Mahama was quoted as saying, “The constitutional amendment we are moving is for those declared assets to be made available to the media through possible publication; and that’s being done to make it more transparent,” when they met at the presidential villa, Peduase Lodge, in the Eastern Region.

But in a statement, the PNF asked that the president should as “a matter of urgency and as a show of his commitment to fighting corruption in Ghana, publicly declare all his assets in accordance with the declaration of assets and disqualification Act 1998 (Act 550).”

Reason 

The Act, among other things, states that “A person who holds a public office mentioned in Section 3 of this Act shall submit to the Auditor-General a written declaration of –(a) all properties or assets owned by him; and (b) all liabilities owed by him; whether directly or indirectly.”

It further provides that the declaration be made by the public officer “before taking office” and “at the end of every four years” and “at the end of the term of his office and shall in any event be submitted not later than 6 months of the occurrence of any of the events specified in this subsection.”

This is what prompted spokesman for PNF, Richard Nyamah, to issue a statement demanding as part of good governance practice and the fight against corruption, to “cause all his ministers, MPs and all other high office holders required under the Act to declare their assets without delay.”

Concern

That, he said, was because “corruption and graft are in our view, the leading cause of Ghana’s underdevelopment as public officers take office with the main objective of lining their pockets.”

Members of the PNF have since indicated their preparedness to participate in any and all activities that would lead to all presidential and parliamentary candidates in the 2016 elections to declare their assets upon filing their bids to lead this country, noting, “The fight against corruption started from the top.”

The PPP insists, “The public declaration of assets is not proscribed by any law currently enforceable in Ghana. It is permissible for the president and any other public official to publicly declare their assets to demonstrate commitment to the fight against corruption.”

Even though the president said during his interaction with the Nigerian leader that “Even in this current regime, any person who wants to challenge the assets declared by any public official is allowed to do so with a court order or a petition to CHRAJ to contest those declared assets; and the assets declared will be made available to that particular institution to investigate”, a statement signed by the National Secretary of the PPP, Kofi Asamoah-Siaw wondered, “How can we challenge the assets declared by a public official if we do not know who has filed the declaration or what has been filed?”

Distrust 

For the party, “The comment made by the president is to play the ostrich and seek refuge in the law in an attempt to renege on his commitment to promote good governance.”

That, it said, was because “The president is fully aware that the constitutional amendment process has been frozen and it will not be resurrected until his term expires in January, 2017;” and has therefore asked him to “demonstrate his commitment to public declaration of assets. We invite him to publish the names of all the public officials who have declared their assets and secondly, publish his own assets declaration form.”

Acting on the Constitutional Review Commission’s (CRC’s) recommendation that there should be a public declaration of assets regime with criminal sanctions for false declarations, the PPP said, “The president must take the lead to make this happen.”

source:ghanaweb.com

6 vehicles crash on Tema motorway

About six vehicles have been involved in an accident on the  Accra-Tema  motorway near the abattoir.

It is unclear what might have caused the accident but a motorist, Derek Laryea attributed it to “bad visibility,” as it was raining at the time.

According to him, the injured have been transferred to the hospital, but added that about 40 minutes after the accident, the Police had still not arrived at the scene.

The Accra-Tema Motorway has recorded several similar incidents in the past where victims have in some cases lost their lives.

On December, 25 2014, there was a fatal accident on the same stretch which resulted in the death of about two persons and left many others in a critical condition.

Robbery at Amanfrom again; manhunt for robbers

Residents of Amanfrom in the Ga South Municipality in the Greater Accra region have been attacked by armed robbers again.

The robbery occurred early this morning around 3 am.

Some residents who spoke to Citi News say the robbers attacked them with knives and guns.

The Amanfrom District Police Commander, ASP Quaye confirmed the incident to Citi News and added that the police are currently closing in on the robbers.

“I received calls of the robbery and I am currently moving in to ensure that we arrest them. We hear they are running towards the Great Lamptey Mills area. I understand the youth are also wielding cutlasses and looking for them,” he said.Some young men who are reportedly wielding cutlasses are also on a manhunt for the robbers.

An eyewitness who spoke to Citi News said the robbers physically bruised the hands of one of their victims with a cutlass.The area [Amanfrom] has been noted for robbery for the past few months.

The situation compelled the Accra Regional Police Commander DCOP Christian Tetteh-Yohuno to visit the area two weeks ago.

He mentioned after the visit that the poor nature of the road in the community hampered the work of the police and admonished the members of the community to contribute and construct a police post to facilitate their protection.

Last Friday, a 15 year old girl was stabbed and robbed at gunpoint at 5 in the morning when she was on her way to the market.

The latest robbery has shocked many residents due to the assurances of the police to protect them from the robbers.

source: ghanaweb.com;citifmonline

We're resuming duty with a heavy heart - Doctors

A senior member of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) Dr. Ernest Yorke has said doctors are resuming duty today with a heavy heart.

The doctors called off their three-week-old strike on Friday after pleas from the general public, chiefs and government.

The doctors are demanding codified conditions of service – a package they have been demanding for decades.

Ghana’s Employment and Labour Relations Minister, Haruna Iddrisu, is optimistic once negotiations are reopened today, Monday, August 24, per the directive of the National Labour Commission, a deal with the GMA is likely to be clinched by the end of October.

Speaking to Kafui Dey on the Morning Starr on Monday, Dr. Yorke, who is the President of the Greater Accra regional branch of the GMA, said they are returning to work out of the respect and compassion they have for their patients and Ghanaians.

“I must say that it is with a heavy heart that we have had to resume duty. We have listened to the general public and the many prominent institutions that have appealed to us.

“So this is the time for the NLC and the other bodies involved in the negotiation process to show their integrity and to prove to us that they are what they claim they are,” he stated.


source: ghanaweb.com

NADMO officer arrested

The National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) Coordinator for Ga East, David Dramani, has been arrested for allegedly stealing relief items meant for the June 3 disaster victims.

Starr News reported that Dramani was picked up by operatives of national security on Monday at his office.

Staff of NADMO at Ga East have also confirmed the development.

Dramani was picked up for allegedly stealing and selling the relief items. His arrest follows an investigation by the Greater Accra NADMO after Starr News uncovered massive diversion of relief items at the Ga East and Central outfits of the disaster management body last month.

“He was taking some of the relief items to somewhere nobody knows and he was intercepted by the national security people,” a staff of NADMO told Starr News.

The staff alleged that Dramani is known for hoarding relief items and that “after the June 3 disaster he kept the things somewhere and at the Dome office; and he was picking them one after the other. Nobody knows where he sends them and I’m not surprised at all.”

“He claims people are jealous about him and even told us to go and look for such post and get those items. He never gives the items to the disaster victims,” the staff added.

Meanwhile, the Greater Accra Regional Coordinator for NADMO, Daniel Mensah, said his outfit has resolved to investigate the issue further.

source: ghanaweb.com / daily guide